Hooped #3 (The Hooped Interracial Romance Series, Book #3) by Claire Adams Read Free Book Online

the time we all lost each other in Wal-Mart
and played Marco Polo to locate each other in the aisles, about the minor
pranks we had pulled before our class loads got heavy enough to convince us to
buckle down and study.
    I didn’t want to leave; I wished that I could stay,
but my alarm on my phone went off even while I was still nursing my coffee,
sipping at my orange juice, trying to prolong the time I had with Devon. “I
could email the professor and tell him I’m sick,” I grumbled, looking at my
phone with dismay. Devon laughed.
    “I could keep you in bed all day, but you know you’d
probably just feel bad that you’re missing everything.” I smiled in spite of
myself.
    “You’re probably right. Damn it.” I shook my head, sighing, and knocked back the last of my juice.
“This is the best breakfast I’ve had in a long time. Really.” Devon shrugged,
but I could see the pride in his eyes, the satisfaction in his smile.
    “Hey—I almost forgot to ask. Are you going to the game
tonight? I won’t be able to get the great shots without my coach there in the
bleachers.” I rolled my eyes, grinning.
    “I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said. “Even if I
wasn’t dating the star player.” I
finished off my coffee and put my dishes in the sink. Devon grabbed me around
the waist from behind, turned me around, and kissed me lightly on the lips
before giving me a little playful shove.
    “Go to class before you get in trouble,” he said,
giving me one last, quick kiss on the forehead. I grabbed my book bag and
hurried out past the other frat brothers, beaming like a 100-watt bulb.

 
    Chapter
Seven
    As I was going from my morning class to lunch, hoping
for a call or text from Devon, my phone
buzzed in my pocket. I nearly dropped it in my hurry to see if it was him—only
to feel a rush of disappointment when I saw instead that it was the pizza place
I worked at. “What’s up?” I asked, continuing to walk towards the dining hall.
    “Can you come in this afternoon? Cheryl called out sick, and we need someone to cover.” I thought
about it; I was only scheduled usually for fifteen hours a week—enough to have
extra money to spend on what I wanted to do, but not so much that I ever had to
worry about schedule conflicts. I knew that I was near the bottom of the
call-in list. Cheryl almost never called in sick—like me, she genuinely liked
working, and she helped support her family with the job. If she had called out,
she was probably barely able to get out of bed.
    “What’s the shift time?” I asked, remembering the game that night; it was supposed to start at
eight.
    “Four till seven-thirty,” Bob, the manager said. I
frowned; I would barely have time to get back to campus, get changed out of my
pizza-scented clothes, and get across campus to the arena—if whoever was
supposed to take over the dinner shift came in a few minutes early, it would
help.
    “Who’s due in at seven-thirty?” I heard the sound of
rustling papers as Bob consulted the schedule.
    “Lisa. If you can swing it, Jenn, it would take a load
off of my mind.” I worried at my bottom lip.
    “If Lisa can come in even five minutes early, I can
definitely do it. If she can’t , I’ll do
my part.”
    “I’ll call Lisa for you,” Bob said. I could hear the
relief in his voice. “I take it you have plans tonight then?” I grinned.
    “Going to go to the game tonight.”
    “Oh-ho! That’s more than just casual fandom in your
voice.”
    “Maybe. Just do what you can to get me out of there a
few minutes early so I don’t miss
tip-off, okay?” Bob agreed and finished the call to get in touch with
Lisa.   Devon texted to ask if I wanted to
hang out before the game; I had to tell him that I had work, but that I would
still be there to watch him play.
    I ran into some of my friends in the dining hall and
as soon as I knew that Kelly wasn’t with them, I agreed to hang out for a bit
before I went to my dorm to get my